Truth or Dare
by p9530
Summary: It all started in Istanbul. Abby/Solomon and Abby/Townsend. Set pre-GG series, M for language and, err, adult themes.
1. Would you like to Dance?

"Do you think he noticed?" Asked Agent Joe Solomon into his comms unit.

"Not yet." Whispered Agent Abigail Cameron. Abby looked over to where a handsome man in a navy blue suit was standing by the door. As he turned, Abby stifled a giggle.

"Great placement" she told her partner. She could see the dark stain on the back of the wealthy businessman's pants- what looked like an 'accident' was actually chocolate that Joe had managed to get there. The young spy caught Joe's eye from where he was standing by the doors to the kitchen, and he winked.

"Ok, it's your turn," said the deep voice she had known forever in her comms unit. "Truth or dare?"

In both of their hearts, they knew that Truth or Dare was not a pastime that the Agency would find appropriate for the downtime they had at the party in Istanbul, but their third team member was working on his part, and there was really not much else to do.

As Abby considered her options, she felt a hand on the small of her back. Right before her instincts took over and she flipped the man with a classic Washington maneuver, she smelt the distinct cologne only one man she knew wore- a woodsy smell with a hint of citrus, and a little bit of leather. She turned and saw her and Joe's other ally for the evening.

"Hey, Townsend," she said with a little bit of bitterness in her voice.

"Abigail." He nodded.

"Edward." Said Joe in both of their ears. "Would you like to join in on our little game?"

"I'm sorry, but we all have better things to do right now than childish games." He said with a condescending look. "I've finished phase one. It's time for you two to step in."

"Alright, the good part." Said Joe. He disappeared into the kitchen.

"Would you like to dance?" Said Townsend loudly, as they had rehearsed. He offered his arm like a gentleman.

"Golly, sure!" said Abby in a voice a little too loud with a smile a little too wide. As she took his arm, she was sure she heard Joe snicker in her comms unit. They made their way onto the dance floor, and began to dance to the slow song the band was playing.

"You two should really stop with all your childish games." Whispered Townsend, in a move that could easily be mistaken for flirting by innocent bystanders.

Abby laughed and wacked Ed on his shoulder- a little too hard to be flirting. "Won't you lighten up? It's just a standard exfiltration." To the average person watching them, they could have been talking about the weather.

Townsend rolled his eyes. "Have you found the mark yet?"

"Way ahead of you. I already have his wallet.' Abigal winked. They heard Joe's voice in the comms unit.

"Ok, target set. Whenever you're ready, Abby." She smiled.

"Ohhh, the fun part." Abby but her lip. "Ready to see my acting chops, Eddy?"

Before he could respond, she slapped him across the face.

"I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU WANT IT, I'M NOT GOING TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU!" she yelled. Joe openly laughed from where he was in the kitchens. The mission had just begun.


	2. The Way We Used To

**Thanks for the reviews guys! I appreciate it!**

"Well, that was fun." Said Abby as she climbed into the back of a CIA van 2 hours later.

"My favourite part was when you slapped Ed." Laughed Joe, scrambling in behind her.

"Ohh, me two." Townsend rolled his eyes. "I can't believe your childish games. You could have compromised the mission!"

"Yea, well, we didn't, did we?" Abby shot back in a bad British accent.

They sat across from each other on the floor, with Townsend sitting straight with perfect posture on one side and Abby and Joe lounge against each other.

Joe smirked at Townsend when Abby lay down and put her head in his lap, shooting him a 'don't you wish you were me?' look. "You might want to get more comfortable, Eddy. This is gonna be a long drive."

* * *

Abby awoke 3 hours later to Joe looking down at her.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said.

Abby smiled. "Hey, hotstuff." They laughed quietly together.

"We should stop this. Eddy's going to think there's something going on between us." She gestured to the sleeping man.

Something quickly flashed before Joe's eyes- disappointment?- before he smiled back at her. "You're right," he whispered as Abby sat up. "So, we never finished our game. Truth or Dare?"

She laughed. "Truth."

Joe was surprised. Abby was normally the type to choose a dare. It took him a minute to think of a good one. "Okay, what really happened in Dubai with Abe and Matt?"

Abby snorted. He was referring to last Christmas- the one she had spent on a mission with Abe Baxter and her sister's husband, Matthew Morgan. "Well, you know how Abe never drinks? We found out why. He's a major lightweight." They both grinned. "We were at a bar on some downtime, Matt and I convinced him to do some Merry Christmas shots with us, and 3 drinks later he was stumbling drunk." She smiled. Joe loved her stories- she had a way of turning little things into hilarious memories.

"So there we were, pretty much dragging a grown man back to the safe house- you should have seen the looks we got. Anyways, when we got there, Matt decided that someone need to teach him a lesson, so he hid under the bed for a night to scare him when he woke up- we were all pretty drunk. I went to bed, and then a few hours later, all I heard was this huge thud and a yell. I ran to their room, thinking someone had broke in, and I found Matt on the floor with Abe standing over him. Matt had woken up in a panic and tried to get up, whacking his head on the bed frame, which had in turn woke Abe up, who had dragged Matt out and punched him, thinking it was an enemy agent. And that was pretty much what went down."

Joe and Abby cracked up together. Joe watched her laugh out of the corner of his eye; the way her bangs fell into her eyes, her smile widened, the way she folded over as if it were all too much.

"Kay, it's your turn. Truth or Dare?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Truth." He said, after a little consideration.

Abby smiled. She already had one in mind. "Who was the first girl you kissed? And not a little peck, but a real kiss. The way we used to."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "The way we used to." He repeated softly. He knew she didn't mean to hurt him- she probably didn't even know that she did. It had been a long time ago- it had been 5 years since they'd shared that first night together, and 3 years since they'd broken up. Of course, they were still great friends- probably closer now than they had been before. But it stung a little for her to be so casual about it. He closed his eyes, willing his racing thoughts to stop- the kind of thoughts that made him happy he was 'hard to read'.

"Her name was Alicia Mays. She was two years older than me. We met at one of the parties Matt and me used to sneak out of Blackthorne to get to. I only saw her a few times, and the last night- right before she left for university at some Ivy League school- she kissed me, and I went with it." He admitted.

Abby smiled what she hoped was a happy smile, but she couldn't help but be a little jealous of that girl. She looked Joe in the eyes, and thought she saw a hint of longing.

"Ok, my turn. Dare." She said before there was a chance for the moment to change.

"Alright, that's more like it," He said in his normal tone. "I have a good one."

"What is it?" she asked, a little bit nervous.

"Kiss Townsend."

**Ohh, suspense! Sorry to leave you hanging like this, but on Tuesday I'll be leaving for vacation, and I won't be back for a week! I'll try to get one more chapter up tomorrow for you guys!**


	3. Be Careful

"Kiss Townsend."

Edward had been half awake, pretending to be asleep to give the girl he was mad for and the man who was mad for her some privacy. But at those words, he woke up fully.

_'That son of a bitch!' _he thought. Solomon, that stuck up little tosser, knew exactly what he was doing to him.

"Okay." Said Abigail calmly. To someone who didn't know her like he did, she would come off as confident, but Townsend heard her voice waver the slightest bit.

There was a little bit of scrambling around as Abby crawled over to where he was. Ed's muscles tensed a little bit when he heard Abby put her hands on the wall of the van on either side of him, her scent clouding his thoughts. All he wanted was to reach in front of him and grab her, to bring her closer, but he knew he had to keep his eyes closed- he need her to think he was asleep, or she would never do it.

He felt her leaning in, and smelt her sweet breathe, then her lips were on his. Joe took a sharp breath.

And he couldn't help it. He kissed her back.

Abby was surprised. Um, wasn't he supposed to be asleep? But she felt sparks fly as they kissed- the 6 seconds felt like ages, in a good way.

Then, just like that, it was over as fast as it had started. She laughed and went back to her spot on the floor next to Joe, who was doing a fine job hiding his emotions. And Townsend went right on pretending to sleep.

There was an awkward moment where neither Joe nor Abby had any idea what to say.

Abby cleared her throat. "Well, I don't think I'll ever be able to come up with something to beat that." She smiled. "Truce?"

He smiled back at her, though his was a little less heartfelt. "Truce."

* * *

A while later, the three operatives were on a plane headed towards London, to check in at the M-16 headquarters before Joe and Abby continued on to Langley and Townsend started another mission- he was to me stationed in Mozambique. To the disappointment of Joe (and the others, too, but they wouldn't show it), they were flying commercial. Solomon sat on the aisle and Townsend at the window, with Abby in between them. About 2 hours, 4 episodes of Friends, and 3 flirty waitresses offering Joe and Townsend free booze after they got on the plane, Joe announced he had to go to the bathroom.

"So..." said Abby. It was the first time they'd been alone since what happened in the van.

"So…" echoed Townsend. "You kissed me."

"I kissed you," Agreed Abby. "Though it was a dare. And you kissed me back."

"I did kiss you back." He replied. "What are you doing when you get back to DC, Abby?"

"Come on, coward, don't change the subject." She scoffed.

"I'm not," He looked her right in the eye. "Abby, you have to listen to me. He'll be back any second. What are you going to do in DC?"

He barely gave her a second to reply. "We both know what you're going to do. You and Solomon are going to get back together."

She denied it. "No we're not. He doesn't feel that way about me anymore."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, come off it, of course he does. And I'm warning you against it."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's hardly your place, considering how I know you feel about me."

"Abby, listen to me! This has nothing to do with me!" his tone silenced Abby. "Do you know what him and Agent Morgan are doing when they go off alone for months on end?"

She started to reply, before she realized she didn't know the answer.

"I have my suspicions. Have you ever heard of the Circle of Caven?" he asked. It sounded like he wanted to say more, but they both heard the bathroom door open and Joe Solomon step out of it.

"Abby- be careful." Said Townsend. Then he turned back to looking out the window.

For the rest of the flight, his words echoed in her mind. _Be careful. _They got off the flight in London, and Abby need to talk to him again- she needed to figure out what he wanted. But after the debriefing at the M-16 headquarters, he disappeared. So Abby and Joe got on a flight to Washington. Without finding out what he was going to say.

_Be careful._

**Thanks so much for reading! I'll be gone for a week now, but I'll try to get another chapter up as soon as I get home! Love you guys!**


	4. Undisclosed Desires

_"You trick your lovers_

_That you're wicked and divine_

_You may be a sinner_

_But your innocence is mine"_

One more mile, one more mile, one more mile. Abby turned up the Muse song she was listening to on her iPod as she ran down the streets of her Washington, D.C. neighborhood.

_"Please me_

_Show me how it's done_

_Tease me_

_You are the one"_

Abby half smiled as she willed her legs to go faster, run harder. She turned and looked up at the man running next to her. Joe was oblivious to her gaze as her looked straight ahead, earbuds in and music blasting. Abby turned and kept running. Abby nudged him, and he turned to her, both of them keeping pace.

"Race you back home?" she smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"You're on" he responded with mock seriousness. "On your mark… get set…"

"GO!" she yelled, and she sprinted ahead of him. Solomon laughed and sped up.

_"I want to reconcile the violence in your heart_

_I want to recognize your beauty's not just a mask_

_I want to exorcise the demons from your past_

_I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart"_

Solomon felt the breeze on his skin as he lunged to keep up with his best friend (next to Matt, of course). At the last second, a block away, he decided to let her win.

Abby kept on sprinting ahead of him, loving the numb, burning feeling in her legs. There was nothing she loved more than a challenge. She raced up the steps of a brownstone building and smacked the brick next to the door.

"Ha! I won!" she exclaimed as she turned and watched Joe walking up the stairs.

"You won." He smiled at her. She was undeniably gorgeous, even drenched with sweat in her Nike shorts and Lululemon tank that showed off her toned body. "Happy birthday, Abby."

She beamed and hugged him. "Come on, let's go inside."

* * *

"You did not!" Abby yelled.

"I did." Solomon beamed.

"Joe, there is no way in hell you told Johnny Depp that you have a man-crush on him!" They were in their kitchen together. Joe was bustling around the kitchen, doing a hundred things at once, and Abby was sitting on the counter, munching a carrot.

"Oh, but I did," he raised his eyebrows. "You know what he said to me?"

"I don't, but I bet it was something along the lines of 'Get away from me, you crazy mofo.'" She smiled.

"You're close. He just raised his eyebrows and walked away. Then I parachuted out of the plane and landed in a field in the South of France."

The pair laughed together.

"Jooooeeey," she called him by the nickname he hated. "I'm hungry. When's diner gonna be ready?"

"Riiiiggght… now." He said as he scooped veggies out of a pan onto a plate of pasta, and poured a delectable looking white sauce over it. It looked delicious.

Joe handed the plate to her and smiled. "Happy birthday."

They walked over to their small table and sat down. Conversation came easily to the pair- they'd known each other for years now. Abby found her thoughts trailing from the conversation to other things… like the way his biceps looked under his rolled up sleeves. And his happy eyes, and his perfect lips. And his tough, calloused hands. God, how she wanted to be touched by those hands again. But she couldn't. She knew they couldn't do that again- she valued their friendship too much. And even though their friendly relationship had survived one break up, she wasn't sure if it could survive another.

Abby finished off her glass of wine. Joe bit his lip as she went to pour herself another. "Don't you think you should slow down?" he said. "That's your fourth glass tonight."

"You've been counting? I haven't." she giggled. "Don't worry. I'm a big girl. As of today, I'm 29. I can handle my liquor."

"Yeah, I know. I've lived with you for 2 years."

"And what a great 2 years we've had. Cheers to that." They clinked glasses.

They quickly finished off their plates of food, and Abby wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin. "That was great, Joe. Thank you so much."

"Anything for you." He smiled. "What do you want to do now? Maybe go out for drinks, or catch a late movie or something?"

"I have something else in mind," Abby said with a devilish smile. "Do you want to play a game?"

* * *

"Okay, are you ready?" Joe said seriously, sitting on their plush couch a while later.

"I was born ready." Abby smiled.

"Okayyy… Truth? Or… Dare?"

"Truth."

Joe considered this for a moment. "Who was your first crush?"

"Easy, Joe. You're gonna have to do better than that." She looked amused. "Harrison Ford. Actually, more like Indiana Jones."

"He's like… thirty years older than you."

"Sweetie, have you seen Raiders of the Lost Ark? He _is_ sex."

They laughed. After some time (4 dares and 6 truths, to be exact), it was Joe's turn.

"Dare." He grinned.

"Prank call Rachel."

"No way! She'll know it's me!"

"Well, you'll have to change your voice then, won't you?" she raised her eyebrows. "Or… you could… forfeit the dare."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Abby, for the last time, there's no way in hell I'm streaking in front of the White House."

"Well you better do the dare then." Abby handed him her phone. He sighed and dialed Rachel's home number, with a *67 before it.

**The song is Undisclosed Desires, by Muse. It's on the playlist i listen to while I write this story, and it obviously does not belong to me :) A new chapter will be up soon, later today or tomorrow! Keep reviewing, I love hearing what you think!**


	5. Make Me Understand

The phone rang. Abby signaled to put it on speaker, which he did. After a minute, they heard the click of the phone being picked up.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other end. Joe froze. This wasn't the voice he had been suspecting. _It must be Cammie_ he thought. She was Rachel and Matt's daughter. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Who is this?" The young voice asked. "I'm warning you, I know how to trace your call."

Joe still had nothing to say. He looked like he was in shock- he's never spoken to Cammie. Abby, who was dying laughing, grabbed the phone from Joe.

"You still remember that, Squirt?" she said. "Good job."

"Oh, hi Aunt Abby!" said Cammie. "Happy birthday! I was going to call you today, but I totally forgot. Mom's away right now, but I talked to her this morning and she said to call you and wish you a happy birthday, but I didn't remember. Grandma and Grandpa are staying with me. Anyways, what's up? Why are you calling from a blocked number?"

Joe's mouth gapped open. How do such little people have so much to say.

"Thanks, squirt. Nothing much, just calling to say. I must have blocked my number by accident; when you do what we do, it's kind of second nature." Abby lied easily.

"Okay. Grandma's saying that I have to get off the phone, it's my bedtime. Night-night! Happy birthday!" Cammie hung up.

"Night-night, squirt." Abby smiled. But she was already gone. She pressed end and put down the phone. "Sorry about that. I forgot, Rachel's in Montreal."

"It's okay." He smiled. "Jeez, how old is she? It seems like just yesterday Matt and Rachel were getting married."

"She's ten." Abby smiled. "Do you remember the wedding, Joe?"

"How could I forget the night we met?" he laughed. "I remember that I bought you way to many drinks for a nineteen year old who wasn't even legal."

Abby smiled and raised her glass. "And that's why I fell in love with you."

Joe smiled, but it was a little awkward. It had been a long time since they'd talked about that. Falling for each other and stuff.

"Truth or Dare?" he said quietly.

"Truth." Abby replied. She no longer felt let doing a dare.

"How do you feel about Townsend?" Joe asked. Abby could tell he had wondered that for a long time.

"I honestly don't know. I- I really haven't spoken to him since Istanbul, two years ago." She swallowed. "He told me how he feels about me, but I don't feel the same way about him."

They looked at each other for a moment before she asked him to chose truth or dare again.

"Truth."

She nodded and thought about it for a bit. She knew that this was her chance to change things- to ask him what she'd been wondering ever since Townsend had put the idea in her head. But did she want things to change?

She took a deep breath- and a leap of faith. "Joe, how do you feel about me? Do you… ever think about us?"

Joe sighed and looked out the window. "Abby… I can't do this."

"So you don't… think about me that way anymore?" Abby bit her lip.

"No, it's not like that." He reached out for her hand, but then he thought better of it. "I think about you every day. But that doesn't mean…" he looked up and saw tears welling in Abby's eyes. She never cried. "Hey. Look at me. I'm so sorry. But we can't be together. Not like before."

"Not like before?! We could be better than before! I'm… I'm older now. I understand things better." She stood up.

"I'm older now too. You deserve someone young. And… whole. You deserve better than me." He closed his eyes and thought about the Circle, and the danger she was already in just living with him- and the greater danger she's be in if they were together again. Just because he's left, it didn't mean they still weren't tracking him. Joe stood and looked deep into her eyes. "Besides. There are some things you can never understand."

She took a step towards him and put a hand on his chest. "Make me understand, Joe."

Then she kissed him.

** Daaaaammnn we got some Jabby action! I was thinking next chapter mayyy include some mature content, so just a warning. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Good Morning

**Hey my wonderful readers! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever, I've had some major writer's block. Anyways, on with the show!**

The kiss was deep, and passionate, and said the words neither of them could say. Abby ran her fingers down Joe's chest and around his back. Joe put his hands on the back of Abby's neck. But he couldn't do this yet. He had to tell her first.

"Abby," he pulled back. "I want this as much as you do. But there's some stuff I have to tell you first."

"Okay," she sat down. "I'm listening. Anything for you."

He sat down next to her, and proceeded to tell her everything. About how he had been recruited by the Circle of Cavan when he was sixteen. How he had left, but not before he did some awful things. He told her how he and Matthew were committed to chasing the Circle and bringing it down, and how they'd been searching and sorting through dead ends and false leads for fourteen years. And most importantly, he told her how to Circle was still after him- and everyone he loved.

"So it's your choice Abby," he finished. "You can stay with me, and be in danger for the rest of your life. Or you can leave and stay safe."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding? That was the big secret?" she laughed. "Honey, I'm a spy. I'm always in danger."

"But- don't you think that it's- it's disgusting that I was in the Circle?"

As a response, she kissed him. She felt him smiling through the kiss. She reached for him and started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his tanned and toned abs. without breaking their kiss, he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom

The night was perfect.

* * *

Abby opened her eyes the next morning with a light breeze blowing on her face and a strong arm hugging her close. She opened her eyes and looked out the open window at the beautiful city. Abby looked down at her bare legs and saw a hand resting on her thigh. She smiled to herself and flipped over to face her lover.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." She whispered into Joe's ear. Then she leaned in to kiss her sleeping friend's lips.

Friend. _No, wrong, we're more than that, aren't we? _She mused. _We always kind of have been. _She thought about the night again, how good it was, even better than before. Abby smiled and kiss Joe's lips again. This time he kissed back and opened his eyes.

"That's a pleasant way to wake up." He grinned. "Kiss me again."

She complied and met his soft lips. When they broke apart, Abby grinned and stood up.

Joe sat up in bed and leaned against the headboard. He watched his beautiful girl pick up a t-shirt of his off the floor and pull it over her bare, toned, amazing body. God, he was so happy this perfect woman was his. She came over him and kissed him again, as if she was reading his mind.

"So," she sat on the edge of the bed. "What are you doing today?"

Joe didn't have any idea, but suddenly a plan popped into his head. "I'm gonna take you somewhere you've never been before."

"And where would that be?" She asked. "Mexico?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You've never been to Mexico?" She shook her head. "I'll take you sometime. But where we're going today is better."

"Joeeee, where?" She whined.

Joe laughed. He loved having her wrapped around his finger. "You'll see."

Abby huffed and stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go have a shower." She was almost out of the room before she looked over her shoulder at him. "With no clothes on." She turned back around and whipped his shirt over her head and tossed it back at him, leaving him with another wicked idea and a glorious view.

**Haha, thanks for reading! Any ideas where he's going to take her? Hint: it's somewhere we've been before in the books!**


	7. That One Time

"Are we there yet?" asked Abby for the millionth time. As a rule, spies ask a lot of questions, but this was getting out of hand.

"God, Abby, you sound like you did on the trip from Dublin to Belfast."

"That was a long ass trip." Abby laughed. "Remember how Abe and Grace were fighting?"

"Remember those waffles we had outside of Belfast?" he mused. "Those were some damn good waffles."

Abby snorted. "And remember how they weren't even on the menu? You charmed that cook into it."

Joe smiled. "I can be very persuasive."

"So can I." winked Abby. "So, are we almost to this mystery getaway?"

"Almost." He singsonged and took a exit. "Tell me a story to pass the time."  
"What story?" she asked.

"Any story."

"Okaaay." She thought for a moment. "Once upon a time, there were these two spies. They were on a mission in Hong Kong. One was a gorgeous, tall, handsome man, and one was a beautiful, stunning, sexy women."

"This sounds familiar," he teased. "Have I heard it before?"

"Mayybbee. Don't interrupt me." Abby replied. "Anyways, they were on a mission in Hong Kong to take down a rogue Turkish ambassador…"

She went on and told him the story, and he stayed silent, happy to have her tell him a tale he had lived. She reached the part where they had got around to cornering the man in a ballroom, and he had refused to stand down, so they had had to go to their last resort- killing him. Contrary to the public's belief, this doesn't happen often.

"…and the man leaned down to the girl and said 'I'm gonna need you to take off your underwear.' She looked at him like he was crazy, but she did it anyways, because she was madly in love with him, and since he was a senior operative, he was sure to know what he was doing. So she slipped her thong down from under her dress, and handed it to him, and he held it so lightly, like he's never seen one before." Abby laughed at the memory. "And then… then they finished him off, using her panties" Abby glazed over the grisly details. "After that was all done, they went back to the hotel… and I think you know where it goes from there." She finished.

Joe smiled and thought about that night, their first night together. "Thanks for the story." He pulled into a driveway that Abby hadn't even noticed. "We're here."

* * *

6 hours later, Joe and Abby were sitting outside on the end of Joe's dock with their feet in the water. It was 9 o'clock, and they'd spent the day at Joe's cabin lounging around and doing nothing. But now, as they always did when they ran out of things to talk about, they were in the middle of a game.

"I told you, I only kissed Rachel that one time!" Joe laughed. "We were drunk, it was in London with the Baxters, and her and Matt weren't even dating yet."

"And what did she say after?" Abby asked, with a wicked smile that told Joe she already knew, but he played along.

"Mr Joee Solomon, you are not as good as a kisser as Matt. And then she passed out."

Joe replied. Abby was already cracking up.

"Joe Solomon, I can't say I've kissed Matt, but you're one hell of a kisser." Abby leaned in for a quick peck. "Okay, my turn. Dare."

"Dare, huh?" he thought for a second before an idea came into his head. "I dare you… to skinny dip."

Abby stood without hesitation. "Joe, you've known me for a long time." She whipped her plain white tee over her head and pulled down her jeans, kicking them off. "You've got to start coming up with better dares." She backed up for a running start, and dived into the cold water in just her bra and panties. She was under water for a long time, long enough that Joe stood up and started to get worried. But after 30 seconds, she came up for air and slapped her soaking wet undergarments onto the dock.

"Now, I dare you to join me." Abby grinned. Joe pulled his hoodie over his head, pulled down his jeans and boxers and jumped in.


	8. She Will Be Loved

"Here's your hot chocolate." Joe handed Abby a warm mug and joined her, sitting on the bed. She thanked him and took a sip.

"This is really good." She smiled and took another drink. "Actually, this is too good."

"Alright, there may be a little rum in there." Joe admitted.

"Well, this is some damn good alcoholic hot chocolate."

"Only the best for you, love." He grinned. "It's from Matt's secret stash, don't tell anyone."

"Secret stash?" Abby giggled. "What, like a secret compartment in the wall or something?"

"Something like that" Joe shrugged. "Let's get back to the game."

"Okay. Truth or Dare?" Abby asked.

"Hey hey hey. I believe it's my turn to ask you." He said. "You dared me to skinny dip with you."

"Fair enough." Abby laughed. "Truth."

"Have you ever slept with a man for the sake of a mission?"

"Just once." Abby admitted. "Four years ago. I was actually on a mission with Townsend, and we had to steal these documents from a French heir to a huge company. I felt bad, he was actually a nice guy, but his dad was in the arms business, so it had to be done in order for the guy to be distracted long enough for Ed to steal some documents." She shrugged.

"Missions with Townsend." Joe shook his head and laughed. "Always a good time."

Abby shrugged. "He makes the high risk part of the job a little dry. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Joe replied without fear. "Make it a good one."

"A good one, huh?" Abby's gaze drifted around the room, and it landed on an instrument in the back corner of the open closet. "Joseph Solomon, I dare you to play me a song."

"A song?" Joe's head whipped around to wear she was looking. "Abby, I haven't played guitar since… a long time."

"Well, you must remember something." Abby got up and took his mug, setting both hers and his down on a table and grabbing the acoustic guitar from the closet. She handed it to him and sat back down. "Play me a song, Joe. Anything you remember. Pleeease?"

He looked up at her. He couldn't resist those eyes. "Well, I can't turn down a dare, can I?" He plucked the strings and turned the nobs, tuning it. "I'm a little rusty." He began strumming a tune on the guitar.

"_Beauty queen of only eighteen, she, had some trouble with herself_." He sang. His voice wasn't perfect, but that bad it even better. He finished the verse and went into the chorus.

_"I've had you so many times, but somehow, I want more._

_I don't mind spending everyday_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile_

_Ask her if she wants to stay awhile_

_And she will be loved_

_She will be loved_

_Tap on my window knock on my door_

_I want to make you feel beautiful."_

Joe continued to sing the song that he knew was one of Abby's favorites. He hoped he was doing it justice. As he sang, he looked right into her eyes, and she looked right back.

"_Please, don't, try, so hard, to say goodbye_." He finished softly, and stopped strumming, "So, what do you think?" he asked. "I know I'm no Adam Levine, but-"

There was a crash as the guitar clattered to the ground and Abby met Joe's lips with hers, pushing him backwards so she was straddling his lap. "It was perfect," she whispered into his ear between kisses. "Just like you."

**The song is, obviously, "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5, and the rights belong to someone other than me.**


	9. I'll Try

9 months later, Joe and Abby were sitting in a DC café.

"I just… I can't believe this is happening!" Joe exclaimed. He was angry- Abby had never seen him this angry, even the time she'd accidently-on purpose turned his shirt pink in the laundry as a joke.

"Joe, hun, there's nothing we can do." Abby reached across the table for his hand. "We just have to wait and see what happens."

"But why… how could they do this to me? To _us_?" he looked her in the eyes. "Abby, he's out there, all alone…"

He was talking about Matt, of course, who was currently God-knows-where on a mission- trying to single handedly take down the Circle of Cavan.

Abby sighed. "The Agency did what they thought they had to do; besides, maybe putting you on desk duty was a good idea…"

She immediately knew this was the wrong thing to say. "Good idea? Abby, do you know what the Circle is capable of?" Joe raised his eyebrows.

Abby looked away. "We just have to find a way to not worry about him."

Joe sighed. "I know." He squeezed her hand. "As long as I have one of my best friends safe."

Abby took a sharp breath. "Oh my God, Joe, I'm so sorry. I have to go to Taiwan. Tomorrow." She closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I forgot to tell you. I just got the call yesterday."

Joe stood up, not looking her in the eyes. "We'll talk tonight." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Desk duty calls."

"Alright, I'll see you." Abby smiled as he turned and walked away. He turned back just as he was about to open the door.

"Hey, don't do anything reckless, ok?" he said,

"Okay." She replied softly. He left.

It always felt like she was watching him leave, but at least they had both been safe for the last year. She sighed as she got up and left the café, on her was to Rachel's to have a movie date with her and Cammie.

Abby's cell phone rang. The number was blocked, so she assumed it was one of her friends from the business. She clicked the talk button.

"Hello?" she said as she walked down the street, towards Matt and Rachel's place.

"Abby? It's Matt."

"Matt? Matthew Morgan?" she ran into a person walking a dog, which was very unlike her. "You're pretty much the last person I'd expect to hear from right now. How's-" she thought for a second. "Where are you?"

"I'm where we were when I found out Rachel was pregnant." he replied. Rome. "Listen, Abby, I don't have long to talk, but I'm really close to finishing off what I came to do."

Abby stopped walking and leaned against the wall of a boutique. "Really!? That's great!" she said. "Well, I'm just on my way to your place, actually, do you want me to pass along the message to Rach that you'll be home soon? Or are you going to surprise her? That'd be great-"

"No, Abby, stop." Matt said. Something in his tone made her lose her trail of thought. "Abby, it's not over yet. And I need you to come here and help me finish it, once and for all."

Abby's eyes widened. The Circle could be taken down? And he needed her?

"I'm so sorry, I don't think I can. I'm leaving for a mission in Taiwan tomorrow, and one more violation and I could be black-listed." She said. He didn't reply. "But I'll talk to Joe, I'm sure he could find a way to sneak out of desk duty, or Rachel could come and help you-"

"No! No, they can't do it. It's gotta be you or no one."

And then she understood. He knew that really, Joe couldn't leave the city, let alone the continent, and that he couldn't put Rachel in that amount of danger. And that she was the only one he trusted enough to risk her life, and he knew he'd risk his for hers in return. "I'll try to get there, Matt." She told him.

"Okay." He calmed down. "Okay. When you get here-" she heard some voices in Italian from his end of the line. Matt said "Un minuto, per favore," and continued speak to her in hushed tones. "When you get here- Sorry, I've got to go. I'll find you." And he was gone.

**Of course, that was my take on the infamous phone call. After this chapter, I plan on jumping forward a bit and writing missing moments from the GG series, along with where Abby was that whole time. Hope you like it! **


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